Twister for locomotive exhaust nozzles



Jan. 1, 1924 INVENTOR AZTOWAW, v

' ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 1, 1924-.

UNITED- r FRANCIS E, OWEN, OFTHISTLE, cram TWISTER r012. LoooMomv EXHAUST NozzLEs,

Application filed August 4, 192a. Serial No. gu nea.

To'aZZ whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that'I, FRANoIs E. OWEN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the town of Thistle, in the county of Utah and State of Utah, have inventeda V certain new and'useful Twister for Locomotive Exhaust Nozzles, of which the following, together with the accompanying drawing, forms a full, clear, and exact specification, such as will enable others'skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a twister for locomotive exhaust nozzles and its principal objects are:

First. To impart a helical motion to the stream of exhaust steam of a locomotive as it emerges from the nozzle.

Second. To create a more perfect vacuum in the smoke-box of a locomotive than is obtained by present-day methods, thereby re-' lieving the back pressure on the pistons:

Third. To obtain a greater efficiency in the use of the fuel for the locomotive, by eliminating the waste of energy due to the impeded exit from the smoke-box, of the exhaust steam and the gases resulting from the combustion of the fuel.

Fourth. To furnish the equivalent of a considerable increase of the efiective crosssectional area of the exhaust pipe.

In attaining the objects above mentioned, I provide, what I choose to call a twister. This twister comprises a series of vanes or blades, which are preferably helical in form and which radiate from a vertical axis more or less coincident with the axis of the nozzle. The vanes o-r blades may spread outwardly until the edges thereof contact the peripheral inside surface of the nozzle, to the walls of whichthe blades may be fastened by any suitable means. The top of the twister preferably lies in a plane at right angles to the axis thereof and may be flush with the top of the nozzle. The blades may extend downwardly throughothe nozzle and may project a reasonable distance into the exhaust pipe.

The effect of the twister is to cause the exhaust steam, as it emerges from the nozzle, to rush upwardly with a twisting or swirling motion, thereby creating a more perfect vacuum in the smoke-box than is accomplished by the plain nozzles in use at the present time and bringing about a considerable saving in fuel.

The features of this invention upon which the protection of Letters Patent is desired, are collectively grouped in the claimsq,

In the drawing, a 1

Fig. 1 represents a plan view of an ordi nary locomotive exhaust nozzle with oneembodiment of my invention operativelyv disposed therein, and r Fig. 2, a 'vertical section'on line 22'in Fig.v 1, showing the said embodiment in elevation. V 7

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 10 designates an ordinary exhaust nozzle fastened tothe usual exhaust pipe 12, by the bolts 14. Parts 15, 16 and717, representradially disposed vanes orblades intersecting each other in theaxis of the nozzle and having their longitudinal junction line rcinforced so as to form a circular cylindrical hub 18. The vanes 15, 16 and 17 ma be fastened to the nozzle wall by means of the rivets 15 16 and 17 though if desired, the vanes may be fastened to the nozzle by autogenous weldin .or the vanes might be cast integrally wit the nozzle proper.

The vanes 15, 16 and 17 may project downwardlyinto the exhaust pipe 12 to any reasonable depth, as shown in Fig. 2, and the bottom edges; of the vanes may be shaped to a feather edge, so as to offer a minimum of resistance to the oncoming exhaust steam. The vanes are curved in horizontal cross-section, that is, a section taken perpendicularly to the axis of the twister shows the vanes in the form of cupped channels. The number of vanes used and the pitch of the helicoids formed thereby, may be varied to suit individual requirements. 7

Having fully described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a twister for locomotive exhaust nozzles, the combinationwith a nozzle portion, of a plurality of vanes inside the said nozzle portion, the said vanes having a 1 curved cross-section and being inc-lined,

relatively to the longitudinal axis of the said nozzle portion, for the purpose of im- 3. A nozzle portion, a plurality of helicoidal vanes having a channel crosssection concentrically disposed with relation to the said nozzle portion and located inside thereof, for the purpose specified.

4. A nozzle portion having a longitudinal axis, a plurality of helicoidal vanes of curved cross-section spaced around the said axis, a hub portion joinin the said vanes to each other, and means for fastening the said vanesto the interior surface of the said nozzle portion.

5. A twister for locomotive nozzles, the said twister comprising a longitudinal cir- 15 cular cylindrical hub, a plurality of cupped helicoidal vanes extending outwardly from the said hub, the said vanes being spaced around the axis of the said hub and adapted for fastening to the inside of a locomotive nozzle.

6. In a locomotive nozzle a plurality of helicoidal vanes" extending longitudinally along the axis thereof, the said vanes being shaped in such a manner, that sections taken transversely through the said vanes shall show channeled forms for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof. I sign my name hereto. 7 V

FRANCIS E. OWEN. 

